Fixing our fells in the Lake District

It may be called the Lake District, but for many of us the main attraction is the stunning upland landscape. Whether it’s the high summit of Scafell Pike, the gentler curve of Cat Bells in Borrowdale or the distinctive ‘lion and the lamb’ rocks of Helm Crag in Grasmere, the Lake District has a view to fall in love with, and a walk to fall in love on.

Did you know that we help to look after these mountains and paths? Here's what we're doing to protect them.

The combination of millions of pairs of walking boots, the weather and gradient of the fells means that erosion is a constant problem and that’s why we're leading the Fix the Fells partnership.

We’re used to dealing with extreme weather in the Fells but the impact of Storm Desmond which struck over the weekend of 5/6 December has been as bad as anything we’ve ever seen. Record amounts of rain fell and this had a huge impact on the upland footpaths – much of the popular Terrace path on Cat’s Bells was washed away, for example. This makes repairing the damage and putting the paths in a sound condition so they can cope with such weather in the future all the more crucial.

The Fix the Fells project is a dedicated team of volunteers, together with four specialist Upland Ranger Teams and partners, who spend many days in all weathers out on the fells pitching paths, clearing drains and re-landscaping erosion. We plan to work on 120 paths over the next 10 years, but this simply won’t be possible without help. Here are some of our costs and how your donation could make a big difference:

If you love the Lakes as much as we do, please make a donation today to our Fix the Fells fund. We're a charity, so donations and legacies are vital to this work. Anything you can offer really will make a difference and help to look after the Lake District uplands.

Thanks for your support.

Support Fix the Fells appeal

The Lake District's footpaths are falling into disrepair and scarring the landscape. Thanks to your donations, we've managed to repair over 200km of paths - but there's lots more to do.